KINGDOM OF SWEDEN
NAVAL ENSIGNS & FLAGS SINCE 1905
In 1905, the union between Sweden and Norway came to an end and the union mark was removed from all Swedish flags. On naval rank flag flags, insignia were moved from the third quarter to the canton. The old commodore's and senior officer's pennants were replaced by "pure" Swedish versions in the national colors. Since then, the naval rank flags have not changed a great deal. After the turn of the century, a lighter shade of blue began to be used for the field of all Swedish flags. After World War II, a new flag was introduced for the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, and in the 1970s the number of stars used to denote admirals' rank was changed to conform with Danish and Norwegian practice: four stars for a full admiral, three for a vice-admiral and two for a rear-admiral. Later the one-star rank of flotilla admiral was added. A captain with independent command flies a forked broad pennant horizontally striped blue and yellow. (The Swedish rank title for captain is Komendör but the rank itself is equivalent to a US Navy or Royal Navy captain.) An officer with independent command below the rank of captain flies a pennant vertically striped yellow and blue; this is also the senior officer's pennant. A warrant officer in command of a vessel flies a triangular pennant vertically striped blue and yellow.
Images Added December 2016
Flotilla Admiral • Warrant Officer
